Too many great bands have been deciding to call it quits lately. Some are smart enough to reconsider [Cursive], whereas some just like to change their name, kick out a really talented band member, and write increasingly boring music [*cough*Braid*cough*]. Jejune has seem to have taken the third route -- complete disbandment. "R.I.P." offers up 5 new tracks recorded by the band before their breakup, and the rest are either remastered tracks from 7"s or remixed versions of songs. The new tracks make me wonder why Jejune called it quits -- "Record City After World" sounds like it would fit right in on their last CD, and "The New State" is great, simple pop-rock. This band obviously still had it in them; why throw in the towel? Moving on to the collected songs -- Some of these I had never heard before, meaning there is still some obscure comp or 7" out there I don't have. My favorite Jejune song ever, "The Early Stars" [from their split with Jimmy Eat World] is on here, but the so-called "remastered" version sounds less powerful than the original -- some things are just better left untouched. The two remixed tracks are throwaways with no redeeming value to them, which makes me question just how important this CD was. Yes, the 5 new songs are great, but why not just an EP? The "remastered" songs seem to have lost the edge that first made Jejune appealing and fresh, and as mentioned before, the remixes are pointless. Jejune was an incredible band, but this is not the way they should have gone out.
[taken from a different kind of greatness webzine]